Athletic pursuits require a unique blend of brains and brawn, and almost always, a heavy dose of skill. For as long as there have been athletic contests, there have no doubt been training aids; they're as old as time immemorium. Moreover, with childhood seasonal sports having evolved into year round, non-stop seasons with multiple teams per player per sport, all involved are seeking and valuing a performance edge.
With regard to hockey, essential elements or skills of the sport comprise skating and stick handling. Clearly, on-ice training for each skill is not only advantageous, but necessary. Be that as it may, stick handling training and skill development is well suited for off-ice pursuit.
While a variety of stick handling training gadgets and methods abound, few, if any, simulate game play and the on-ice experience. Moreover, while most if not all contemplate lateral movements, few simulate meaningful back and forth or fore and aft action without resorting to actual player motion in either such direction. Further still, few stick handling training devices are readily adapted, altered, etc. to increasingly challenge a user in furtherance of skill enhancement. Thus, it is believed advantageous to provide a stick handling training apparatus which aids in the development and enhancement of non-skating skills while simulating fore and aft game/rink travel. More particularly, it is believed both desirable and advantageous to provide a training apparatus characterized by a stick handling deck having a traveling surface upon which a user, separate and apart from the deck, manipulates a work piece such as a puck or ball, and which may be selectively adapted and/or controlled for increased or graduated skill development. In-as-much as stick handling training has been/is presented in relation to ice hockey, it need not be so limited, with field hockey being another or further contemplated game or sport. The training sought for improvement need only contemplate or require a stick or other tool/implement which is used to direct a work piece upon a surface.